GAMBIA: PRESIDENT BARROW REVEALS PLAN TO BUILD MAGNIFICENT GAMBIAN BRIDGE
Work on a proposed landmark bridge connecting The Gambian capital Banjul and the northern half of the country would begin in earnest next year, if a recent announcement by President Adama Barrow is anything to go by.
Speaking in the northern town of Essau as he began a mandatory Meet the People’s Tour on Monday, President Barrow said the 8km bridge linking Banjul and Barra is one of a whopping 42 countrywide projects under the aegis of his newly minted National Development Plan aimed at bettering the lives of his otherwise impoverished compatriots.
“Talks are at an advanced stage to construct the bridge for which the foundation stone will be laid by 2019 and work will take four years to complete” Barrow told communities in the North Bank Region.
People of the region and beyond journey across the waters from Barra for access to the Gambian capital using ferries.
The proposed bridge when built will be Gambia’s longest and could ease the persistent trouble bedeviling businesspeople and commuters relying on the ferries whose schedules are for the most part erratic.
According to the Gambian leader, the African Development Bank has approved the sinking of 60 boreholes across the country yearly to facilitate easy access to water for agricultural and other purposes.
He promised that under his watch, the government will deliver 140 more boreholes over the next four years.
President Barrow’s tour of the country will last for ten days during which he would hear the plights of rural communities.
